COLUMBIA - The Columbia City Council held a special meeting Wednesday to introduce three separate proposals involving downtown housing developments.

Of the three proposals in place, developers for two of them would provide all the money needed to fund the project.

But for the largest one, at Fifth Street and Turner Avenue, the city would be responsible for all electric funding. This would take place as long as the developer, ACC Development, finishes the project in an agreed upon time frame.

The city council is looking for new ways to fund city sewage improvements after rejecting last month's TIF proposal. But several members, including Ward 3 councilman Karl Skala, have questions about the proposals.

"In the context of what their developments are, for example the 300 thousand dollar contribution, is a 730 bed residential facility. That's a relatively small amount of money to help with public-private infrastructure," Skala said.

Deputy City Manager Tony St. Romaine did not know exactly how much the electrical portion of the project would cost, but said it would most likely fall between 600 and 800 thousand dollars.